Château de Peychelard

En un regard

Le château en bref

The remains of the Château de Peychelard, the original residence of the lords of Lamastre, stand in the commune of Lamastre, in the Ardèche, on a rocky spur overlooking the valleys of the Doux, the Grozon and the Condoie. The castle is said to have been built in the 10th century by the lords of La Mastre; a village, Mastra, grew up at its foot from the late 11th century onwards, and a certain Adhémar de Mastra is recorded as lord of the place in 1082. The site lost importance between 1575 and 1594 before gradually disappearing from the records. It is said to have been razed on the orders of Louis XIII and was already in ruins at the time of the 1642 land register. The last lord of the place died in 1792, the year associated with the final abandonment of the site. The remains were then used as a stone quarry for the construction of the lower town of Lamastre. Today reduced to modest remains on private property, the site is freely accessible all year round, and a heritage interpretation panel there recounts its history.